The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk continues its look at the major stories which helped to shape 2021.

Reggae’s man of mystery Lee “Scratch” Perry died on August 29 at age 85 in his native Hanover. As a producer, few matched his penchant to experiment with different sounds and embrace marginalised artistes.

Typical of the Perry legend, speculation shrouded his death. There was talk that he succumbed to COVID-19 while on his annual vacation from his home in Switzerland.

The rumours were secondary to his expansive legacy as a producer who got the best out of The Wailers, Bob Marley, Max Romeo, Junior Byles and musicians like bassist Boris Gardiner.

“He liked to use professional musicians, he never liked amateurs. People like Ernie Ranglin (guitar), Mikey ‘Boo’ Richards (drums), (keyboardists) Robbie Lyn and Keith Sterling…he could relate to them. But if he didn’t like what he heard he got very cross,” said Gardiner.

The lanky musician played on Perry productions such as Police And Thieves by Junior Murvin and Marley’s Punky Reggae Party. Both were hits in the United Kingdom where the diminutive Perry had a cult following among punk heroes including The Clash and Sex Pistols.

British broadcaster, sound system operator and reggae historian David Rodigan was an admirer of Perry’s achievements in dub and roots-reggae.

“The world of music has lost one if it’s most enigmatic creators; an amazing, incomparable phenomenon whose sonic sound waves transformed our lives. The Blackboard Jungle album alone stands as a beacon of sheer brilliance,” said Rodigan.

Tributes also came from The Beastie Boys, The Clash and Lupe Fiasco.

After an apprenticeship at producer Clement “Coxson” Dodd’s Studio One, Perry branched out as an artiste and producer during the late 1960s. Though he had hit songs with People Funny Boy and Roast Fish and Cornbread, he was best known for directing The Wailers on songs like Duppy Conqueror and Mr Brown; Beat Down Babylon and A Place Called Africa by Junior Byles; War Ina Babylon by Max Romeo, and Fisherman from The Congos.

Perry worked most of his magic at the Black Ark, a Kingston studio that was as mysterious as its owner. After it mysteriously burned to the ground in the late 1970s, he moved to Europe where he recreated himself as an artiste.

He recorded a number of unconventional albums including Jamaican E T, which won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2003.